Rory McIlroy has admitted there are many "bad habits" he must iron out before his Irish Open defence, where US president Donald Trump will be in attendance.
Since retaining the Masters, McIlroy has acknowledged inconsistencies in his game, particularly with his swing. This weekend, he has the chance to correct those issues and show his best form at his home tournament.
Memphis struggles
McIlroy has not won a tournament since retaining the Masters this year, with his best display coming in last month's BMW Championship, where he placed third. Discussing his recent swing struggles, the Northern Irishman said: "I played Memphis (FedEx St Jude Championship) and played very poorly, and was looking at my swing on video and just didn't like where it was. I submitted to making a few changes - not changes that are unfamiliar to me, changes that I have had to do before."
"Everyone has their tendencies and bad habits in the golf swing and I just got into a bad habit in mine. It is still something I am working through and conscious of, but I do think if I can really dig into it in the next few months, I feel like I will start the 2027 year where I want it to be."
Work in progress
McIlroy finished 66th in Memphis after carding eight over par, a massive 25 strokes adrift of eventual champion Scottie Scheffler. Following the tournament, he confessed to feeling "lost" with his swing, sparking worry amongst supporters of the game.
At the time, he said: "Obviously didn't come in here with a ton of reps, almost felt like the more the week went on, the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit. I figured it out a little bit the last few holes today, I think. Yeah, swing wasn't in sync and obviously didn't do a ton of practice coming in here."
"I guess nice to shake the rust off a little bit, but I'm going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week."
Irish Open defence
Last year, McIlroy won the competition in stunning fashion. He holed a 25-foot putt for an eagle on the 72nd hole to force a play-off with Swedish ace Joakim Lagergren, before eventually sealing the victory on the third extra hole.
"I think everyone's golf course is a work-in-progress - mine is no different. There is always things that you want to try to improve upon," McIlroy added.
